Living on the Bleeding Edge

Where are all the next wave of technologies, ideas and AV integration possibilities? Sometimes it is fun to think about what is possible and what we could be developing with our skills. Technology should be so much more interesting than the average solutions provided in everyday projects. We should develop new AV concepts into our projects to provide clients with unique solutions. So my main point is, Why not?

Here are four scenarios of what we could be doing…

A man or woman has a video call on their phone while they enter a conference room. With one swipe, the person on the far end is transferred from phone to extra large monitor, and the voice is transferred to the room audio system. Everyone in the conference room is now engaged in what was a one-on-one video call. In an instant, a video call on a user’s phone was upgraded to full room video conference call.

Every store we walk into has million static marketing campaign materials with static price signs above them. What if every clothing rack or sporting goods shelf was able to detect the product you picked up. When that happened, what used to be a static marketing poster and is now replaced by an OLED display, the system is triggered to provide a specialized marketing campaign with useful information and any current deals related the product you are currently holding in your hands.

Conference rooms are built with dedicated touch panels to do very ordinary things like turning monitors on and off, controlling room functions like blinds and lights, and switching sources. When will all conference rooms be designed automation-based on occupancy and proximity? A person walks into a room and the lights turn on. That’s normal to us. When will we take it a step further so that when we walk into the room the interactive 70” monitor turns on and asks you what type of meeting you’re having. Instead of touching the 5” panel, why not build AV control into my interactive flat screen? When the professor walks into this room his university ID card is sensed because of beacon technology and the blinds lower, the projector turns on, his microphone level is set and the scheduled VTC call is engaged with his students on another campus.

We walk through urban art installations and public space installations, but so many times it revolves around images and video or kinetic sculpture. What about a public soundscape? Teamed with the right artistic team, we could provide such a drastic and interesting change to an urban or public setting.

The perfect example of this is the Light Tunnel at the Detroit Metro Airport. The first time through McNamara Terminal you have to pass underground through the mesmerizing Light Tunnel, which features an elaborate multi-colored light show behind sculpted glass. The light patterns are synchronized with an original musical score composed by Victor Alexeeff,[22] which runs for nearly 30-minutes before repeating. This installation, one of the first large-scale uses of color changing LED lighting in the United States, was produced by Marcus Wuebker of Mills-James Productions with glasswork by Foxfire Glass Works of Pontiac, Michigan. The display won multiple lighting design awards including the prestigious Guth Award of Merit.

The systems that I describe are multi-disciplinary, require custom software, and an intricate knowledge of hardware. We could be virtualizing the software, centralizing the remaining hardware, and delivering all audio, video and control over the network. Some capabilities are still only theoretical and in need of that magical combination of designer skills and know how, owner vision, and willingness to live on the bleeding edge with the right budget and timeline.

Let us take that next step of modern technology into modern building design with you.